Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 59 / Thursday, March 27, 2014 / Notices 17139 

C. Decision on Petition To Make 

Special Under the Glossary Pilot 

Program (Form PTO/SB/436): If 

applicant files a petition using Form 

PTO/SB/436, the USPTO will decide the 

petition once the application is ready 

for examination. If the petition is 

granted, the application will receive 

expedited processing up until the time 

of the first Office action, in accordance 

with all applicable laws, regulations, 

and policies. In particular, the 

application will be placed on the 

examiner’s special docket prior to the 

first Office action, and will have special 

status up to issuance of the first Office 

action. Thereafter, the application will 

be placed on the examiner’s regular 

amended docket, unless designated 

special in accordance with another 

established procedure (e.g., Accelerated 

Examination, Prioritized Examination, 

Special Based On Applicant’s Age, etc.). 

If applicant files an incomplete Form 

PTO/SB/436, or if an application 

accompanied by Form PTO/SB/436 does 

not comply with the requirements set 

forth in this notice, the USPTO will 

notify the applicant of the deficiency by 

issuing a notice, and applicant will be 

given only one opportunity to correct 

the deficiency, if correctable. If 

applicant still wishes to participate in 

the Glossary Pilot Program, applicant 

must make appropriate corrections 

within one month or thirty (30) days of 

the mailing date of the notice, 

whichever is longer. The time period for 

reply is not extendable under 37 CFR 

1.136(a). If applicant fails to correct the 

deficiency indicated in the notice 

within the time period set forth therein, 

the application will not be eligible for 

the Glossary Pilot Program, and the 

application will be taken up for 

examination in accordance with 

standard examination procedures, 

unless designated special in accordance 

with another established procedure 

(e.g., Accelerated Examination, 

Prioritized Examination, Special Based 

On Applicant’s Age, etc.). An originallyfiled glossary providing explicit 

definitions on the record will control 

the interpretation of the relevant claim 

terms, whether or not the petition is 

granted. 

D. Interviews: Standard interview 

practice and procedures applicable to 

regular ex parte prosecution will be 

available for applications participating 

in the Glossary Pilot Program. 

Applications accepted into the Glossary 

Pilot Program that also participate in the 

First Action Interview (FAI) Pilot 

Program must meet all the requirements 

and procedural limitations of the FAI 

Pilot Program. 

E. Examination: During examination, 

in applications claiming benefit of an 

earlier application under 35 U.S.C. 119, 

claims that include terms defined in the 

glossary section will be examined to 

ensure they comply with the 

requirements of 35 U.S.C. 112(a) in 

order to determine their effective filing 

date in accordance with standard 

examining procedure. An applicant 

cannot subsequently disavow the 

meaning of any term that has already 

been defined in the glossary section 

submitted on filing. Except for the 

correction of typographical errors, the 

glossary definitions cannot be amended 

or deleted during examination. The 

examiner will consider the glossary 

section as controlling for the meaning of 

the terms defined in the glossary 

section. 

Dated: March 24, 2014. 

Michelle K. Lee, 

Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for 

Intellectual Property and Deputy Director of 

the United States Patent and Trademark 

Office. 

[FR Doc. 2014–06792 Filed 3–26–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–16–P 

CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY 

COMMISSION 

[Docket No. CPSC–2009–0092] 

Submission for OMB Review; 

Comment Request—Clothing Textiles, 

Vinyl Plastic Film 

AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety 

Commission. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Consumer Product Safety 

Commission (Commission or CPSC) 

announces that it has submitted to the 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) a request for extension of 

approval of a collection of information 

from manufacturers and importers of 

clothing, textiles, and related materials 

intended for use in clothing under the 

Standard for the Flammability of 

Clothing Textiles (16 CFR part 1610) 

and the Standard for the Flammability 

of Vinyl Plastic Film (16 CFR part 1611) 

under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). 

DATES: Written comments on this 

request for extension of approval of 

information collection requirements 

should be submitted by April 28, 2014. 

ADDRESSES: Submit comments about 

this request by email: OIRA_

submission@omb.eop.gov or fax: 202– 

395–6881. Comments by mail should be 

sent to the Office of Information and 

Regulatory Affairs, Attn: OMB Desk 

Officer for the CPSC, Office of 

Management and Budget, Room 10235, 

725 17th Street NW., Washington, DC 

20503. In addition, written comments 

that are sent to OMB also should be 

submitted electronically at http://

www.regulations.gov, under Docket No. 

CPSC–2009–0092. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Robert H. Squibb, U.S. Consumer 

Product Safety Commission, 4330 East 

West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814; 

telephone: 301–504–7923 or by email to 

rsquibb@cpsc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In the 

Federal Register of June 14, 2013 (78 FR 

35875), the Consumer Product Safety 

Commission (CPSC or Commission) 

published a notice in accordance with 

provisions of the Paperwork Reduction 

Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35) to 

announce the CPSC’s intention to seek 

extension of approval of a collection of 

information from manufacturers and 

importers who furnish guaranties for 

products under 16 CFR parts 1610 and 

1611. 

A. Background 

Clothing and fabrics intended for use 

in clothing (except children’s sleepwear 

in sizes 0 through 14) are subject to the 

Standard for the Flammability of 

Clothing Textiles (16 CFR part 1610). 

Clothing made from vinyl plastic film 

and vinyl plastic film intended for use 

in clothing (except children’s sleepwear 

in sizes 0 through 14) are subject to the 

Standard for the Flammability of Vinyl 

Plastic Film (16 CFR part 1611). The 

standards set forth in 16 CFR parts 1610 

and 1611 prescribe a test to help ensure 

that articles of wearing apparel, and 

fabrics and film intended for use in 

wearing apparel, are not dangerously 

flammable because of rapid and intense 

burning. Children’s sleepwear and 

fabrics and related materials intended 

for use in children’s sleepwear in sizes 

0 through 14 are subject to other, more 

stringent flammability standards 

codified at 16 CFR parts 1615 and 1616. 

Pursuant to the Flammable Fabrics Act 

of 1953 (FFA) (Pub. L. 83–88, 67 Stat. 

111; June 30, 1953), the testing 

procedures in 16 CFR parts 1610 and 

1611 are mandatory for those firms that 

issue guaranties. 

Section 8 of the FFA (15 U.S.C. 1197) 

provides that a person who receives a 

guaranty in good faith that a product 

complies with an applicable 

flammability standard is not subject to 

criminal prosecution for a violation of 

the FFA resulting from the sale of any 

product covered by the guaranty. For 

example, a distributor or importer may 

rely on a guaranty issued by another 


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17140 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 59 / Thursday, March 27, 2014 / Notices 

firm stating that the fabric or wearing 

apparel covered by the guaranty is 

compliant with 16 CFR parts 1610 and 

1611. The Commission uses the 

information compiled and maintained 

by firms that issue these guaranties to 

help protect the public from risks of 

injury or death associated with clothing 

and fabrics and vinyl film intended for 

use in clothing. In addition, the 

information helps the Commission 

pursue corrective actions if any 

products covered by a guaranty fail to 

comply with the applicable standard in 

a manner that creates a substantial risk 

of injury or death to the public. 

Firms are not required to issue 

guaranties for fabrics or wearing apparel 

that they manufacture or distribute. 

Only domestic firms, or foreign entities 

with a domestic presence, can issue a 

guaranty. For those firms that choose to 

issue guaranties, section 8 of the FFA 

requires that such guaranties must be 

based on ‘‘reasonable and representative 

tests.’’ However, testing is not required 

to support a guaranty when the guaranty 

is based on an exemption contained in 

16 CFR 1610.1(d). Continuing guaranties 

may be filed with the Commission. Any 

firm that issues a guaranty must keep 

records of the related tests. The testing 

and recordkeeping requirements for 

firms that issue guaranties are set forth 

under 16 CFR part 1610, subpart B, and 

16 CFR part 1611, subpart B. 

B. Comments 

We received two comments, 

discussing four issues, in response to 

the June 14, 2013 notice. 

Comment 1: One commenter stated 

that a study should be conducted to 

assess whether ‘‘anti-inflammatory 

chemicals’’ may increase the risk of 

cancer. 

Response 1: This comment is outside 

the scope of the inquiry regarding 

paperwork burdens associated with 

issuing guaranties. 

Comment 2: The American Apparel 

and Footwear Association (AAFA) 

asserts that under the FFA, continuing 

guaranties must be maintained for 3 

years. However, AAFA notes that the 

proposed rulemaking for certificates of 

compliance under 16 CFR part 1110 

would require certificates of compliance 

for non-children’s apparel and 

supporting test records to be maintained 

for 5 years, as opposed to 3 years. AAFA 

opposes the addition of 2 years of record 

keeping requirements for such 

certificates. 

Response 2: This information 

collection is on guaranties issued 

pursuant to 16 CFR parts 1610 and 

1611. Accordingly, recordkeeping 

requirements for certificates of 

compliance are outside the scope of this 

information collection. 

Comment 3: The AAFA questioned 

the accuracy of the Commission’s 

estimate that 1,000 apparel 

manufacturers and importers issue 

guaranties. AAFA noted that in 2010, 

more than 7,000 U.S. companies were 

included in the general U.S. Census 

category of Apparel Manufacturing and 

about 6,000 in the category of Textile 

Mills. Additionally, the AAFA noted 

that in 2011, based on U.S. Customs and 

Border Protection estimates, there were 

about 68,000 apparel importers. Based 

on the figures provided in its comment, 

AAFA believes that the number of 

apparel and textile manufacturers that 

furnish guaranties is more than the 

Commission’s estimate of 1,000. AAFA 

requested that the Commission describe 

in detail how the Commission came to 

the estimate of 1,000 manufacturers and 

importers that issue guaranties. 

Response 3: For the purposes of this 

response, we do not question the 

accuracy of the figures provided by 

AAFA. However, staff believes that the 

figures provided by AAFA do not 

provide an accurate basis to estimate the 

number of manufacturers and importers 

that issue guaranties. Manufacturers and 

importers are not required to issue 

guaranties, and only domestic firms, or 

firms with a domestic presence may 

issue guaranties. Thus, even though tens 

of thousands of companies may be 

manufacturing or importing fabric or 

wearing apparel, based on guaranties 

filed with the Commission, compliance 

experience with the industry, and 

previous discussions with AAFA 

members, staff does not believe that 

most of these firms are issuing 

guaranties. 

AAFA has not provided information 

that would aid in revising the 

Commission’s estimate of the number of 

firms that issue guaranties. The 

Commission’s estimate of 1,000 firms 

that issue guaranties was based on the 

number of guaranties that have been 

filed with the Commission. The 

Commission’s most recent updated 

records indicate that approximately 660 

firms have active continuing guaranties. 

Because guaranties are not required to 

be filed with the Commission, CPSC 

staff rounded the number of firms that 

issue guaranties up to 1,000. 

Comment 4: The AAFA also 

questioned the Commission’s estimate 

that the regulations impose an average 

annual burden of about 101.6 hours on 

each firm that issues guaranties. AAFA 

noted that the apparel industry is 

dynamic, with rapidly changing styles 

and products. AAFA stated that in 2011, 

there were about 11 million separate 

entries of imported apparel. AAFA 

argued that if each entry required one 

hour of recordkeeping, the total burden 

could be 11 million hours, much more 

than the Commission’s estimate of 

101,600 burden hours. AAFA requested 

that the Commission describe in detail 

how the average annual burden of 101.6 

hours per firm was derived. 

Response 4: The number of apparel 

entries does not provide an accurate 

basis for determining the recordkeeping 

burden for firms that issue guaranties 

because: (a) Importers are not required 

to issue or to file a guaranty with each 

import entry for fabric or wearing 

apparel; (b) imported fabric and apparel 

entries are not required to be 

accompanied by a guaranty; (c) even 

when fabric or apparel entries are 

covered by a guaranty, one guaranty can 

cover multiple products, fabrics, and 

entries; and (d) the number of apparel 

entries in a given year does not provide 

any information about what tests and 

records are required to be maintained 

which would inform an estimate of the 

recordkeeping burden. A direct 

relationship does not exist between the 

number of apparel entries in a given 

year and either the number of guaranties 

issued by firms or the burden hours 

associated with issuing a guaranty. 

Accordingly, the Commission has not 

relied upon the number of apparel 

entries to estimate the recordkeeping 

burden for guaranties. 

The Commission’s estimate of 101.6 

average annual burden hours per firm 

for issuing guaranties is based on an 

estimate of the time for each firm that 

issues a guaranty to conduct the testing 

required by the regulations, to issue 

guaranties, and to establish and 

maintain associated records. In arriving 

at estimates of testing time, CPSC 

considered our own laboratory and 

Compliance experience and the 

experience of several AAFA- and 

ASTM-member manufacturers’ and 

third party testing laboratories. The 

estimates used were purposely 

generous, and may overstate the actual 

time necessary to conduct testing. 

Additionally, the estimated testing time 

is an over-estimate because the testing 

time is applied to every firm per 

guaranty issued, even though many 

firms may issue guaranties based on an 

exemption from testing under 16 CFR 

1610.1(d), and may not actually conduct 

testing. The Commission’s average 

annual burden hour estimate of 101.6 is 

explained in detail in section C below. 

C. Burden Hours 

The Commission’s estimate of 1,000 

firms that issue guaranties is based on 

the number of continuing guaranties 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 59 / Thursday, March 27, 2014 / Notices 17141 

that have been filed with the 

Commission. The Commission’s last 

updated records indicate that 

approximately 660 firms have active 

continuing guaranties. Because 

continuing guaranties are not required 

to be filed with the Commission, CPSC 

staff rounded the number of firms up to 

1,000. 

The Commission estimates that the 

flammability standards for clothing 

textiles and vinyl plastic film and 

enforcement regulations impose an 

average annual burden of about 101.6 

hours on each of those firms, based on 

an estimate of the time for each firm to 

conduct testing, issue guaranties, and to 

establish and maintain associated 

records. The average annual burden 

hour estimate of 101.6 is based on the 

following assumptions, which are 

based, among other things, on staff’s 

experience with and expertise in testing 

requirements and procedures and staff’s 

review of records relating to guaranties 

that have been filed with the 

Commission: 

• Testing Time—5 hours per test 

series, using either the test and 

conditioning procedures in the 

regulations or alternate methods that are 

now allowed under the 2007 

amendments to the regulations (this was 

applied to all firms for each guaranty, 

even though many firms no longer test 

because the products are exempt by 

virtue of weight or fiber content under 

16 CFR 1610.1(d), or because the firms’ 

experience indicates that the fabrics 

already comply); 

• Guaranties Issued—On average, 20 

new guaranties issued per firm per year 

for new fabrics or garments; 

• Estimated Annual Testing Time per 

Firm—5 hours for testing × 20 

guaranties issued = 100 hours per firm; 

• Estimated Annual Recordkeeping 

per Firm—1 hour to create, record, and 

enter test data into a computerized 

dataset; 20 minutes (= 0.3 hours) for 

annual review/removal of records; 20 

minutes (= 0.3 hours) to respond to one 

CPSC records request per year; for a 

total of 1.6 recordkeeping hours per firm 

(1 hour + .3 hours + .3 hours = 1.6 hours 

per firm); 

• Total Estimated Annual Burden 

Hours per Firm—100 hours Estimated 

Annual Testing Time per Firm + 1.6 

Estimated Annual Recordkeeping hours 

per Firm = 101.6 hours per firm; 

• Estimated Annual Industry 

Burden—101.6 hours per firm × 1,000 

firms issuing guaranties = 101,600 

industry burden hours. 

The total annual industry burden 

imposed by the flammability standards 

for clothing textiles and vinyl plastic 

film and enforcement regulations on 

manufacturers and importers of 

garments, fabrics, and related materials 

is estimated to be about 101,600 hours 

(101.6 hours per firm × 1,000 firms). 

The hourly wage for the testing and 

recordkeeping required by the standards 

is about $61.06 (for management, 

professional, and related occupations in 

goods-producing industries, Bureau of 

Labor Statistics, December 2012), for an 

estimated annual cost to the industry of 

approximately $6.2 million (101,600 × 

$61.06 = $6,203,696.00). The hourly 

wage was updated from the $57.22 

estimate used in the June 14, 2013 

notice (for management, professional, 

and related occupations in goodsproducing industries, Bureau of Labor 

Statistics, June 2009). 

The estimated annual cost of the 

information collection requirements to 

the federal government is approximately 

$4,696, which is based on a total 80 staff 

hours to examine and evaluate the 

information as needed for Compliance 

activities (representing an estimate of 

the actual time required to conduct such 

examination and evaluation in staff’s 

experience). Compliance staff typically 

reviews a subset of the guaranties filed 

and may inspect firms that issue 

guaranties. The estimated annual cost to 

the government is based on a GS–12 

level salaried employee. The average 

hourly wage rate for a mid-level salaried 

GS–12 employee in the Washington, DC 

metropolitan area (effective as of 

January 2011) is $40.80 (GS–12, step 5). 

This represents 69.5 percent of total 

compensation (U.S. Bureau of Labor 

Statistics, ‘‘Employer Costs for 

Employee Compensation,’’ December 

2012, Table 1, percentage of wages and 

salaries for all civilian management, 

professional, and related employees: 

http://www.bls.gov/ncs/). Adding an 

additional 30.5 percent for benefits 

brings average hourly compensation for 

a mid-level salaried GS–12 employee to 

$58.70 ($58.70 hourly compensation × 

80 hours = $4,696.00). 

Dated: March 24, 2014. 

Todd A. Stevenson, 

Secretary, Consumer Product Safety 

Commission. 

[FR Doc. 2014–06772 Filed 3–26–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6355–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Office of the Secretary 

[Docket ID: DoD–2014–HA–0005] 

Submission for OMB Review; 

Comment Request 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Defense 

has submitted to OMB for clearance, the 

following proposal for collection of 

information under the provisions of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 

Chapter 35). 

DATES: Consideration will be given to all 

comments received by April 28, 2014. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Fred 

Licari, 571–372–0493. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title, Associated Form and OMB 

Number: Women, Infants and Children 

Overseas Participant Satisfaction 

Survey; OMB Control Number 0720– 

0046. 

Type of Request: Extension. 

Number of Respondents: 75. 

Responses per Respondent: 2. 

Annual Responses: 150. 

Average Burden per Response: 15 

minutes. 

Annual Burden Hours: 38. 

Needs and Uses: The information 

collection requirement is necessary to 

obtain the participant’s satisfaction 

levels with the services provided by the 

WIC overseas staff and the overall 

program. The findings from the surveys 

will be used to determine the success of 

the WIC overseas program and if 

improvements are necessary. 

Affected Public: Individual or 

Households. 

Frequency: On occasion. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Voluntary. 

OMB Desk Officer: Mr. John Kraemer. 

Written comments and 

recommendations on the proposed 

information collection should be sent to 

Mr. John Kraemer at the Office of 

Management and Budget, Desk Officer 

for DoD, Room 10236, New Executive 

Office Building, Washington, DC 20503. 

You may also submit comments, 

identified by docket number and title, 

by the following method: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

Instructions: All submissions received 

must include the agency name, docket 

number and title for this Federal 

Register document. The general policy 

for comments and other submissions 

from members of the public is to make 

these submissions available for public 

viewing on the Internet at http://

www.regulations.gov as they are 

received without change, including any 

personal identifiers or contact 

information. 

DOD Clearance Officer: Ms. Patricia 

Toppings. 

Written requests for copies of the 

information collection proposal should 

be sent to Ms. Toppings at WHS/ESD 

Information Management Division, 4800 


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